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Friday, December 9, 2011

25 Days of Christmas and Holiday Series: Day 9

A Very Corky Christmas

It's all about corks today at The Homeless Finch. I have this mountain of wine bottle corks. No I did not drink all these bottles! I have been saving the corks from a few nice bottles of Chianti, but the majority of what you see here was given to me on my last visit to a nice Italian restaurant in my neighborhood. I mentioned that I had started collecting them and the next thing you know, our waiter brought out a bag full of them! So, I set out to see what kinds of things I could come up with for the holidays. Here is what I came up with....

Tied a simple piece of plaid fabric to the hanging string....done. Sweet.

This is done with one cork cut in 6 pieces and another cork cut in
half lengthwise and then in half again for the truck. I used about 16 inches of jute.

Notice how on this one, I used the end of the work stained with wine for the top.

I made several of these little trees because I also want to use a few on top of packages. I tried out making the tree larger, but it was too bulking for an ornament, so I did this instead with the larger one.

I glued it onto a piece of spare fabric to give it stability. I had this
little coffee bag sitting in my "Oh, I will just keep this,
because I think I can use it someday" pile.

Here are the results...

I think this little bag would be great if giving a nice bottle opener to someone.

Next I set out to fashion something without having to cut the cork, using spare buttons, hooks and beads. Here is what I came up with...

This ornament is one whole cork with a rustic jingle bell on a red ribbon. I used
red buttons on the top with a spare part from a Dollar Store ornament I took apart.

I liked the grape graphic on the side of this one. I added a shiny jingle bell on a
piece of jute and used just one button up top.

I then started playing around trying to come up with something a little more outrageous. Plus it was late at night and I was tired and a little punchy. Here is what I came up with...

This little Red Nosed Reindeer is made from two and a half corks, some fabric scraps
for his tail and ears, a tiny piece of jute for antlers and the red nose is a bead off that
Dollar Store ornament I took apart for the previous ornament.

I attached a red ribbon to his back using a little eye screw
from a picture hanging kit.

My family loves this little guy. I think it is my son's favorite item I have made thus far!

At this point, I thought to myself that using corks in a tablescape could be pretty nifty. I wanted something quick and easy to show you. Why not a place card holder? Here is what I came up with...

I fashioned this place card holder out of two whole corks, a twig from a bush
in my backyard (not kidding) and fresh greens that the Christmas tree lot
guy let me pick up off the cutting floor.

Then, I decided to up my game and try to fashion something that could be a gift for the wine enthusiast, or for that matter someone who likes their wine!! Here is what I came up with...

These cork coasters were very easy to make. The toughest part for me was the cutting. If you have a stronger person around, enlist their help. Here is who I made them...

Cut the cork lengthwise. You will need 4 corks per coaster.

Cut a piece of sheet cork about 3 inches by 3 inches

Put a thick layer of glue on the sheet cork. I actually made it thicker than
this picture above.

I arranged the corks in a herringbone pattern, using hot glue to re-enforce.
I cleaned up the hot glue that you can see in the image above.

After making a set of four, I packaged them together
using a plaid ribbon and some fresh greens.

I could have gone on and on and on! It is endless what you can do with corks! It's a lot of fun, and a great way to recycle! If you don't have any corks, don't be afraid to ask your neighborhood Italian restaurant to save them for you. I think you would be surprised at the mountain they hand over in no time!

great ideas!!! I'd like to invite you to come over and join my special ornament link party... open the rest of this month.. I also have a FAB ornament giveaway you can enter. Hope you can check it out!http://nap-timecreations.blogspot.com/2011/12/ornamentsparty-giveaway.html